More and more jobs are fated to disappear, thanks to monoliths like Amazon squeezing out other retail, thanks to autonomous vehicles close to becoming part of the mainstream, and for a host of other reasons. Economist Robert Reich offers a partial answer to those losses, one that I doubt will ever be implemented in the ...

Robert Reich doesn’t dispute that the 45th president of the United States is both stupid and ignorant. He’s not as accomplished as he pretends. In fact, he would have done better clipping coupons. Writing in TruthDig, Reich says Trump is really just an accomplished hustler, a con man. He knows how to manipulate people. He ...

This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jessica Corbett charts the U.S.’ unacceptable (and worsening) inequality. Robert Reich discusses how the Republicans’ tax scam represents a triumph for oligarchy. And Ben Steverman notes that the bill passed this month is ripe for abuse – and already being exploited to the fullest by the U.S.’ ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Tom Campbell notes that we may not be far away from seeing the world’s first trillionaire – and that there’s a strong likelihood it will involve a confluence of extreme wealth and concentrated political power. – Meanwhile, Robert Reich observes that the U.S. Republicans’ tax scam is reinforcing ...

This and that for your Thursday reading. – Robert Reich reminds us that sustainable economic growth is the product of bottom-up development, not a top-down trickle of wealth: What’s the real formula for growth? Better access to education, healthcare, and transportation, all of which make workers more productive. These more productive workers command higher wages. ...

Assorted content to end your week. – Matt Bruenig explores the U.S.’ wealth inequality and finds a similarly skewed distribution of wealth among all kinds of demographic subgroups. And Robert Reich discusses why the attempt to sell a tax cut for billionaires as doing anything but making that problem worse is nothing short of laughable. ...

This and that for your Thursday reading. – Kevin McKean discusses how inequality undermines the goal of ensuring a healthy population. Matt Bruenig examines new data showing that the concentration of wealth in the U.S. is getting more extreme by the year. Steven Pearlstein writes about new polling showing that the U.S. public strongly favours ...

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – George Monbiot examines the history of James McGill Buchanan, Charles Koch and others who have used massive amounts of time and money to ensure that wealth wins out over democracy in shaping U.S. policy – and how their influence will sounds familiar elsewhere as well: The papers Nancy ...

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Robert Reich comments on the absurdity of Donald Trump’s plan to shovel yet more money toward a military-industrial complex and corporate profiteers who already have more than they know what to do with. – Sara Fraser and Laura Chapin write that food insecurity is primarily an issue of ...

Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Miles Corak offers a must-read paper on the two stories most often told about inequality in Canada, reaching this conclusion on the recent accumulation of wealth at the top of the income spectrum and the readily observable inequality of opportunity based on the inheritance of social and economic ...

Here, a rare Saturday column on the lessons we should draw from the election of Donald Trump in how we organize and work within our political system. For further reading (beyond the writing already linked here)…– Others offering similar thoughts include Murray Dobbin, Rick Salutin, Kai Nagata and Robert Reich.– Tabatha Southey highlights how racism ...

During the campaign, Robert Reich urged American progressives to hold their noses and vote for Hillary. He also said that, the day after the election, they should mobilize, perhaps around Bernie Sanders, to create a new progressive movement, one that could challenge both the Republicans and the Democrats in 2020. Well that day has arrived, ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Dani Rodrik suggests that instead of engaging in extended hand-wringing over the collapse of public interest in corporate trade deals, we should instead be working on strengthening domestic social contracts: The frustrations of the middle and lower classes today are rooted in the perception that political elites have ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Andrew Jackson discusses the challenge of ensuring that stable jobs are available in Canada: Good jobs are a central mechanism in the creation of shared prosperity. What matters for workers is not just being able to find any job but also security of employment, level of pay, working conditions, and ...

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Albert van Senvoort points out that poverty is more difficult to escape in Canada today than it was two decades ago. And Jean Swanson discusses the desperate need for more action from all levels of government to ensure the right to housing is met in British Columbia. – ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Robert Reich discusses how our economy is rigged so that the self-proclaimed risk-takers actually can’t lose: I don’t want to pick on Ms. Mayer or the managers of the funds that invest in Yahoo. They’re typical of the no-lose system in which America’s corporate and financial elite now ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Robert Reich points out how perpetually more severe corporate rights agreements are destroying the U.S.’ middle class. And Michael Geist concludes his must-read series by summarizing the dangers of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (and making the case against ratifying it). – Jeremy Runnalls writes about the growing movement toward ...

This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Elaine Power discusses how a basic income can build both individual security and social solidarity: We work for lots of different reasons, not just money. And most of us do work that is never paid. To start, we need to change our ideas about work, not just ...

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – David Dayen examines the different treatment granted by businesses to well-connected elites compared to everybody else, and says it’s understandable that voters are looking for leaders who understand their side of the divide. And Robert Reich highlights the dangers of trying to appeal for votes by telling people ...